Revelations & Resolutions
by NicHarper
Summary: Skye is captured by enemy forces, and the team is on a mission to get her back. One person in particular. Terrible summary, First fanfic. I do not own Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
1. Chapter 1

Ward watched as Skye gritted her teeth and shut her eyes against the latest onslaught of torture her captors were administering. She screamed – a sound so raw that he had to look away from the monitor.

'Dammit!" he growled. "Fitz, we _need_ a location! Where is she?"

The younger agent fumbled and stuttered trying to find a way to get to their lost team member. Grant knew that he would need to apologise to Fitz at some point for snapping at him, but that would have to wait. Right now, Skye was his only priority. He had to get to her, he had to save her, and most of all, he needed to inflict pain upon the bastards that were doing this to her.

It was a simple reconnaissance mission. They were just supposed to surveil the building for a few hours, monitor who went in and who came out and be done with it. But Skye. Stupid, _stupid_ Skye had to get out of the van for a bathroom break. And he let her. He may as well have handed her over to them right there and then; and now, he was standing here, helpless to do anything for her, while another scream ripped from her lungs.

Why didn't she just tell them what they wanted?! He'd heard the questions they'd been interrogating her with, she knew the answers. She could have told them everything they wanted to know. But she wasn't saying her word, and she wouldn't. He could see it, right there in her eyes; never mind the pixilated quality of the video feed, he could still see that look – a look of resolve, and absolute determination. She wasn't telling them anything, and she would pay the price for it.

He wanted desperately to walk away, to leave the room, anything to escape the sound of her suffering. But he couldn't do it. He couldn't leave her. He might not be there with her, but he couldn't live with himself if he abandoned her again. No, he had to stay. When he got her back (and it would be "when". No way in hell would he settle for an "if" in this situation) he would be kicking her training up a notch.

He'd slacked off after the incident with Miles; even though she'd apologised numerous times, and meant it, her betrayal still stung – and as a result he tried to be around her as little as possible. And in those moments when he had no other choice, he was silent. If it wasn't mission related, it didn't need saying. And now, because of his negligence, she had been captured. If he had just kept up with her training, she could've fought them off; she could've gotten back to the van, back to him.

He brought his focus back to the monitor. She was passing out, he could see it. Her eyes were glazing over and her breaths were becoming more and more shallow. He was torn – it comforted him to know that there was little they could do to hurt her while she out, but he also knew without a doubt that her time was running out. They needed to get to her. Now.

He turned back to Fitz, ready to yell at him for not working fast enough – but the Scotsman beat him to it. "We've got her."

Ward didn't say anything. He'd thank Fitz later – after he apologized. Right now, he had to get to Skye. As he rushed to get the vehicle, he pulled out his weapon and made sure he was ready for action. "Hold on" he thought, "I'm coming for you".


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thank you ****_so_**** much for the reviews. I have to say that I was really surprised, and incredibly humbled. And now, I also have to say that I am terrified for this chapter because I desperately do not want to disappoint. So, here goes nothing... **

He was becoming every bit as stubborn as her.

Grant Ward had lost track of the number of times that the other members of the team had "suggested" he take a break or get some sleep; but every time he would turn them down. He needed to be here, with her, with Skye. It didn't matter that she was unconscious; he had resolved himself to staying by her side until she awoke... and probably even after that too.

He exhaled slowly as he gently ran his thumb over the back of her hand. It amazed him a little bit, to be honest. Her hand was so small in comparison to his, and it was by no means a perfect fit when he held her hand in his own – his was large and masculine and practically swallowed hers, and yet when he closed his fingers around it, it felt right. Great. He was becoming a cliché as well as stubborn.

On the way to rescue her he could think of nothing but the sound of her screams, and was sure that there was nothing that would stop him from showing her captors a similar treatment to the one they had given her. He was wrong, of course. Skye had stopped him.

He'd busted into the room, and she was all he could see; all those years of training right out the window. He shivered slightly as he recalled seeing her tiny frame, hanging limp in the chair; if her hands and feet hadn't been bound to the stand alone structure, she would've been on the floor for sure. He'd made a beeline straight for her, completely forgetting about the enemies in the room. Thank god for May – she really was the cavalry. Everything seemed to work out in the end; May had dispatched the enemy, while Ward had gone straight for Skye.

"Skye?! Can you hear me? Skye! Please talk to me!"

Even to his own ears, he had sounded desperate. She hadn't answered him; his only consolation had been the feel of her weakened pulse and shallow breathing, reassuring him that she was still hanging in there. He'd freed her from the chair and carried her out. He knew he probably should have waiting for medical assistance, they weren't in a hurry any more – there were no longer any hostiles to be concerned with, but nevertheless he marched out towards the rest of the team, cradling the rookie in his arms. His rookie.

Ward was brought back into the present by a slight pressure being applied to his hand. He looked down to see his own hand still holding hers; his thumb, apparently now working of its own accord as it continued to stroke a meaningless pattern over Skye's knuckles. Perhaps that was why she had now started to squeeze his fingers with her own.

He tore his gaze from their joined hands to search her face for any signs of consciousness; still none. He continued his visual inspection down her body, seething every time his eyes fell upon a scar or wound that her captors had given her.

She was going to be okay. He had asked the medical staff incessantly, and was sure that he was incredibly close to being thrown out of her room. He smirked slightly at that – he would've liked to see them try. No one would be making him leave, not unless they wanted him to drag Skye along too. He wasn't letting her out of his sight. No way. He'd made that mistake too many times already.

His visual examination was interrupted as she turned slightly. He checked once again to make sure that she was still asleep, she was. But despite this, he couldn't help but notice that she seemed to grip his hand a little tighter than before. He leaned toward her, "I'm here, Skye. You're alright; everything's going to be alright". He leaned back once again, careful not to disturb their joined hands.

He had no idea if she would be able to hear him, but he didn't care. He was here, and she was with him – and to him, that meant that everything was going to be alright.


	3. Chapter 3

He couldn't sleep. Again.

Insomnia seemed to be becoming a frequent occurrence since Skye's abduction, and it was beginning to take its toll.

Grant Ward had never been one to have nightmares; growing up, he seemed to live in one, sleeping was his solace – at least it _was_, until now. Every night he would go through the motions, and yet, every time when he was _finally_ about to doze off he would hear her screaming, or her terrified face would flash into this mind. And that would be it. He would have to get up, go to her bunk and check on her. Tonight was no exception.

He unfolded himself from his small bed, and silently pushed open the door. He did a visual inspection of his surroundings, making sure no one was around to see what he was about to do. He wasn't ashamed of checking on her, far from it in fact. But he knew that whoever found out about his new nightly routine would have questions – questions that he wasn't sure how to answer yet.

Once he had established that there was no one around he made his way to her bunk, his bare feet padding silently along the cold floor of the plane. He got to her door in seconds, and instantly went on high alert. Her door was ajar. He peered into the small room, and had his fears confirmed: the bunk was empty. No Skye.

Being an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. had trained him for every kind of high-risk situation imaginable. Just not this one. He did a second sweep of her bunk just to make sure she wasn't in there, hiding or something. That did sound like something she would do, right? Nope. Still not there. Ward didn't even realise that he had forgotten to breathe - not that anyone would have noticed with heart beating so goddamn loudly. What was with that?

He knew he was being ridiculous, and if Skye was here she would have laughed at him. And that was enough. He was back. She seemed to have a knack for that – bringing him back. He closed his eyes, and let out a slow breathe. She was here, he knew it. They'd been in flight for hours, and she was sure as hell on the plane when they took off.

With his heart beat now returning to its normal rhythm he finally heard what he was looking for. Every now and then he could hear a dull, irregular beating sound, and he knew it had to be her. She was in the training area. And in a few seconds he would be too.

He stopped when he saw her. There she was, hair hanging loose around her shoulders, wearing a t-shirt so big it seemed to swallow her small form. She was standing in front of the punching bag with her back to him, throwing punches. He felt a smile tugging at the edges of his mouth, that is, until he heard her sniffles. She was crying.

Within seconds he had descended the stairs, with Skye still unaware of his presence. He wanted to reach out to her, but more than that, he didn't want to startle her. So instead he let out a gentle whisper, "Skye?"

Despite his best efforts, she still jumped at the sound and spun around to face him. Her cheeks glistened with tears, and her eyes threatened to spill more.

She looked at him with an emotion he couldn't read. "What are you doing here?" She spoke so quietly that he wouldn't have known she had said anything if he hadn't seen her lips move.

"I could ask you the same thing" He smiled at her slightly, meeting her gaze.

"Can't sleep" She stated matter-of-factly, turning away from him to go back to the bag. "What about you?"

"Same deal" he answered, watching her as she threw another punch. A frown began to form on his brow; if she kept hitting like that she was going to hurt herself, and she'd been hurt enough in the past few weeks.

She let out a snort at his answer.

Now he was becoming confused. "What?"

She turned back to him, and he noticed that she was on the verge of losing her composure. "You... _you_ don't have a reason for not being able to sleep. You're fine! _You_ don't do stupid things!" She turned back to the bag and continued, her voice rising slightly, "You don't betray people you care about..." she'd started her punching again, "...and you don't leave the van when you're not supposed to..." He could see she was hurting her knuckles, "...and _most_ of all, you don't get caught by the enemy and get tortu..."

That was it. He couldn't take it anymore. He reached out and stopped her wrist before she could make another contact with the bag, and pulled her to him. She was sobbing now, she had opened the flood gates. He only held her tighter.

They had gotten so much closer since her ordeal, but this was still something new for them. She had never let go in front of him like this before, and he had never held her so close. This was new territory for both of them, and as Grant Ward bent his head to place a small kiss on her forehead, he felt a new fear growing in the pit of his stomach.

Holding her like this – it was dangerous. He may end up not wanting to let go.

**A/N: Hi everyone, thanks again for the reviews. I have to say I wasn't sure whether I should continue with this story or not - but I am hooked on this ship and need something to fill this two week waiting period we've been given. :-[**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Hi guys, I think this may be an epilogue of sorts. Don't get me wrong, I love writing about Skye and Ward – but I'm also wary of overdoing it. So, I think this may be the closer for this one. But, after such a warm reception for my first ever fanfic, I have to say – I may now be an addict. Thanks for everything!**

It was a waiting game. That was what his days had become.

Grant Ward adjusted the pillow behind his head to make his half-lying/half-sitting arrangement more comfortable; not that comfort was ever really achieved on a bed so small. Honestly! Coulson had hand-picked the team, could he not have hand-picked the beds too?

His bed on the bus had always been small, and these days it became even smaller. He momentarily dropped his focus from his latest book to glance at his watch. Relief and joy washed over him, it was nearly time.

He abandoned the novel for the time being; there was no way he was going to get any actual reading done – his mind was elsewhere, and if he was being honest, it had been the whole time. With only minutes left he went back to readjusting his pillows and blankets just to give him something to do; and when he had exhausted that medial task, he picked up his book again and opened it to a random page. There was no need to make it obvious that he had been counting down the seconds.

As the words on the page began to blur before him he heard what he had been waiting for all this time. He looked up to see the door of his bunk opening silently, and a pyjama-clad Skye entering. He smiled at her, one that she returned after closing the door behind her. He glanced down at his watch again, "Is it that time already?" he said with a smirk.

Skye gave him a look that said she knew exactly what game he was playing, and approached him to kneel on the bed. "Don't even pretend that you weren't waiting for me..." Her mouth quirked up into a smirk of her own.

"I was reading"

She plucked the book from his hands, and held it up in front of his eyes. "Upside down?"

He let out a small chuckle as he grimaced. He'd walked right into that one. But Grant Ward, never one to back down from an argument – no matter how playful or frivolous, only replied with "It's a new skill I'm trying to develop."

As much as he had tried to say it seriously, the smile in his voice betrayed him, and he knew he'd lost the fight, and so did she.

Skye shook her head at him, still wearing that knowing smile on her face as she tossed the book onto his nightstand. She then promptly leant down towards him and placed a small kiss on his lips, a kiss which he returned. This was their greeting, and he had been waiting all day for it.

It was almost a form of torture to have to hold himself back throughout the day. Especially when she would find ways to make it _even_ harder by giving him pointed looks, or when she would go out of her way to touch him in some small way. A touch that he was powerless to return without drawing attention to what he was doing. So instead, he would bide his time. Waiting for the moments like this.

This was their time: after the rest of the team had gone to sleep, and before they got up in the morning. This was when he got to be with her, truly. During the day, he was Grant Ward: S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent, and Skye's Supervising Officer; but at night, he was Grant. And she was Skye. And he loved that.

The kiss, however brief, was like magic – spreading all kinds of warmth through his body. He opened his eyes to find her gazing at him. "What?" He whispered, still unable to wipe the smile from his face.

"Nothing" She returned his smile.

"Good" he said simply, allowing one hand to snake around her waist, while the other found its place cradling the back of her neck. He pulled her back to him for another quick kiss, pulling her down onto the bed with him in the process. She giggled slightly as their lips parted once more, and nestled in beside him.

With her head on his chest, and his arms around her, the S.O. and the rookie settled in for sleep. One day they would tell the others, it was still early days anyway. And that was what they loved about it. It was just them, and that meant that in these few hours during the night, they existed in a world of their own. There were no bad guys, no superheroes, just Skye and Grant.

And they could think of nothing better.


End file.
